10 Terrifying Wrestling Curses That Will Chill Your Blood

The WWE Royal Rumble curse is not just limited to the number 14...

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FMW

There's no such thing as a curse... probably.

There is no scientific basis for it, rather a highly improbable and sometimes harrowing coincidence or series of them. Documented video footage actually exists that rubbishes the phenomenon.

Triple H and Jim Cornette independently arrived at the idea to screw Bret Hart out of the WWF World title at Survivor Series 1997. Cornette, sick of the politics (and occupying the same physical space as Vince Russo) suggested the finish out of exasperation. Triple H suggested it out of ruthless, heartless ambition.

In the incredible Wrestling With Shadows documentary, on God's name, he denied this to Bret's wife at the time Julie Hart. She knew better. As captured by the film crew, she said "Swear to God all you want; one day God is going to strike you down."

God didn't. While Triple H was cursed to hear the awful sound of blanket silence in one of every two of his WrestleMania ego-strokes, he thought they were great, and he currently presides over WWE, which has never generated more revenue, as the critically acclaimed saviour 'Papa H'.

Obviously, some of these "curses" are significantly more serious than others, and should not be conflated as such. Nor should any of them be actually taken seriously

But this sort of hokum is fascinating nonetheless, and in a particularly cruel note of irony, documented video footage does exist that might make you think differently...

10. Don't Drive Anywhere In Canada

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WWE

That's basically it: if you are a wrestler working Canada, try not to drive to get to the next town because, it would seem, the very physical property of asphalt there is cursed.

It's not merely asphalt that the aspiring Canadian wrestler must contend with; on what is known as the Canadian Death Tour, several wrestlers, who treat it as a badge of honour, have driven over frozen lakes into tiny, almost inhospitable towns that might not even draw a tiny crowd barely accustomed to wrestling; many such communities shut down entirely in the frequent event of a death by suicide resulting from the sheer isolation. Edge, Christian, Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega have all traversed the ice. Rhino, fearing death when a van collapsed into the water, attempted to make land by foot.

You may not expect this from the most famous Canadian territory of yore, since the denizens of the country are likely to say "sorry aboot that" if they themselves get rudely barged into, but travelling the Stampede loop came with it the risk of painful humiliation even by the standards of the wrestling "rib". It was not uncommon for the worst offenders of a brutally sadistic locker room regime to spike a rookie with laxatives before super-glueing their ar*e cheeks shut or sh*tting on their toothbrush.

In altogether more serious business, in 1988, Adrian Adonis perished in Newfoundland when the driver of his vehicle, William Arko, was blinded by the low sun and swerved to avoid a moose, causing the van to careen into a creek.

He died on July 4, which, if such a thing actually exists, is a cursed day for the professional wrestler...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!